It Happened Here
East London's Landscape of Struggle
The streets we live in and walk through are steeped in history, yet much of the time we remain unaware of the dramatic and intense moments that took place in the past and deeply affected people at the time.
East London is an area rich in history of drama and conflict. History reveals itself slowly. Certain structures stand out in the landscape but the moments of history that these places are connected to often remain hidden. In the not so distant past these places were witness to the struggles of Suffragettes, low paid dock workers, teenage “match girls”, radical councillors and communities opposing fascism.
These are not places that are stained by a history so traumatic that they have to be removed from normal life and can only function as a museum or a memorial. They are places lived, worked and played in. But there is a relationship between place, memory and history. A certain place may change significance for us when we know its history. Perhaps it maintains an aura of what has happened there or perhaps we only imagine that.
These are landscapes where perhaps we can picture the events taking place in, people taking a stand, attempting to make a difference and fighting for what they believe in. And if we can picture them and we remember them then they succeeded.
This work has been exhibited at The Free Range Degree Shows 2007 and at Chats Palace for Photomonth 2008.
Bibliography
Beckman, Morris, The 43 Group: The untold story of thier fight against fascism, Centerprise, 1992.
Bhattacharyya, Anindya, “How we stopped the Nazis in the 1970s”,
Socialist Worker, 22 October 2005.
Charlton, John, ‘It just went like tinder’: The mass movement & New Unionism in Britain 1889, London, Redwords, 1999.
Foot, Paul, The Vote: How it was won and how it was undermined, London, Viking, 2005.
Lavalette, Michael, George Lansbury and the Rebel Councillors of Poplar, London, Bookmarks Publications, 2006.
Love Music Hate Racism, Our Music, Our Carnival, 27 April 2008 Programme.
McGarr, Paul, “Anger Against The Tory Tax”, Socialist Worker, 17 March 1990.
Oatridge, Nic, Wapping 86: A Photo Essay, http://www.coldtype.net/Assets/pdfs/Wapping1.pdf
Palmer, Alan, The East End: four centuries of London Life, London, Murray, 1989.
Piratin, Phil, Our flag stays red, London, Lawrence and Wishart Ltd, 1948.
Socialist Worker, Wapping dispute coverage, January 1986-February 1987.
Taylor, Rosemary, Walks through history: Exploring the East End, Derby, Breedon Books, 2001.
Thanks to
Matthew Cookson, Rachel Cunningham, Gavin Jack, Ilona Jurgiel, Andy Ridley, Peter Young, Richard Sanders and Sabrina Tirvengadum
and in loving memory of Derek Allen,
an East End rebel, 1931-2007.
The streets we live in and walk through are steeped in history, yet much of the time we remain unaware of the dramatic and intense moments that took place in the past and deeply affected people at the time.
East London is an area rich in history of drama and conflict. History reveals itself slowly. Certain structures stand out in the landscape but the moments of history that these places are connected to often remain hidden. In the not so distant past these places were witness to the struggles of Suffragettes, low paid dock workers, teenage “match girls”, radical councillors and communities opposing fascism.
These are not places that are stained by a history so traumatic that they have to be removed from normal life and can only function as a museum or a memorial. They are places lived, worked and played in. But there is a relationship between place, memory and history. A certain place may change significance for us when we know its history. Perhaps it maintains an aura of what has happened there or perhaps we only imagine that.
These are landscapes where perhaps we can picture the events taking place in, people taking a stand, attempting to make a difference and fighting for what they believe in. And if we can picture them and we remember them then they succeeded.
This work has been exhibited at The Free Range Degree Shows 2007 and at Chats Palace for Photomonth 2008.
Bibliography
Beckman, Morris, The 43 Group: The untold story of thier fight against fascism, Centerprise, 1992.
Bhattacharyya, Anindya, “How we stopped the Nazis in the 1970s”,
Socialist Worker, 22 October 2005.
Charlton, John, ‘It just went like tinder’: The mass movement & New Unionism in Britain 1889, London, Redwords, 1999.
Foot, Paul, The Vote: How it was won and how it was undermined, London, Viking, 2005.
Lavalette, Michael, George Lansbury and the Rebel Councillors of Poplar, London, Bookmarks Publications, 2006.
Love Music Hate Racism, Our Music, Our Carnival, 27 April 2008 Programme.
McGarr, Paul, “Anger Against The Tory Tax”, Socialist Worker, 17 March 1990.
Oatridge, Nic, Wapping 86: A Photo Essay, http://www.coldtype.net/Assets/pdfs/Wapping1.pdf
Palmer, Alan, The East End: four centuries of London Life, London, Murray, 1989.
Piratin, Phil, Our flag stays red, London, Lawrence and Wishart Ltd, 1948.
Socialist Worker, Wapping dispute coverage, January 1986-February 1987.
Taylor, Rosemary, Walks through history: Exploring the East End, Derby, Breedon Books, 2001.
Thanks to
Matthew Cookson, Rachel Cunningham, Gavin Jack, Ilona Jurgiel, Andy Ridley, Peter Young, Richard Sanders and Sabrina Tirvengadum
and in loving memory of Derek Allen,
an East End rebel, 1931-2007.
